Monday, August 20, 2012

Quick Links: Free Care, Gaming, Medicare Exodus

Dr. Edwin Leap: "Why must medical care be provided for free?", KevinMD, 8/16/2012.

(Dr. Leap asks a very relevant question, using his septic tank as a springboard for discussion.)

Sarah Kliff: "How doctors could game Obamacare", Washington Post, 8/15/2012.

Dr. Shabbir Hossain: "Beating the 30 day readmission: Why there’s little to celebrate", KevinMD, 8/16/2012.

(One trend to anticipate: Physicians will be under pressure by ACO and/or hospital administrators to delay such readmissions until after the 30-day "clock" runs out.  After all, the administrators won't bear the risk of trying to manage a patient in tenuous clinical condition as an outpatient.)

David Hogberg, "The Next Exodus: Primary-Care Physicians and Medicare", NCPA, August 2012.